Current methods of determining whether a vehicle is compliant with emission standards include open path and closed path emissions measurement systems. In a closed path system, an emission sensor is directly connected to the exhaust of the vehicle, such as by insertion into a tailpipe. An open path vehicular emissions measurement system collects data by a means other than a direct connection to the tailpipe, such as a remote sensor that analyzes the individual components of emissions. Open path vehicular emission systems are often preferable to closed path systems because they can be used in numerous locations and do not require the vehicle to stop for testing.
However, a shortcoming of the current vehicular emission detection systems, and in particular open path vehicular emissions detection systems, is that they cannot distinguish vehicles having properly functioning catalytic converters from vehicles having failing or missing converters. For example, an emission detection system will preferably measure the levels of emissions of one or more hydrocarbons from a vehicle. If the emissions include one or more hydrocarbons in concentrations that are above threshold levels, the current systems presume that the vehicle's catalytic converter is missing or not properly functioning. Accordingly, the current systems will determine that the vehicle fails the emissions test.
However, high emissions can be caused by operating conditions other than an improperly functioning catalytic converter. For example, when a vehicle is experiencing a high degree of acceleration, it may operate in a temporary “open loop” mode, which means that the engine supplies extra fuel for added power. Open loop operation of a vehicle's engine occurs when the feedback information of the emissions controls of the engine are ignored by the engine process controller such as to generate more power for hard acceleration or provide a richer air/fuel mixture for smoother operation when the engine is cold. An emissions test while this condition occurs will generally show higher carbon monoxide emission levels, which are construed to mean that the vehicle has excess emissions, leading to the false conclusion that the vehicle is violating emission standards. It may be that the vehicle will comply with emission standards once the vehicle returns to closed loop operation when the engine's air/fuel ratio is held by on-board emissions controls to the ideal or stoichiometric ratio. Vehicle engine modes such as those which may result from low speeds, high speeds, and/or initial engine startup or “cold start”, may also yield excess emissions in a vehicle having a properly operating catalytic converter.
To try to overcome these shortcomings, prior systems have electronically measured the amount of heat emanating from the vehicle's engine while also measuring the amount of heat reflected from the road surface under the vehicle. This can be an expensive method, as remote heat measuring capabilities must be employed in a system that is rugged enough to handle continuous on-road exposure with sufficient resolution of measurement to distinguish temperatures. Additionally, since vehicles have many different profiles of vehicles, such as from subcompact vehicles that are close to the road surface and large sport-utility vehicles that are relatively high off of the road surface, it is difficult to manufacture an open path temperature measuring device that would have a broad enough field of view to handle all types of vehicle profiles. Also, background influences, such as the amount of sunlight, different types of road surfaces, and the presence of skid plates under vehicles, can contribute to inconsistent results from the prior heat energy measurement methods.
These shortcomings of the current vehicular emissions sensors contribute to increased errors of commission when they are used to identify vehicle with excess emissions. An error of commission occurs when an open path emissions sensor identifies a vehicle as having excess emissions, only to discover in a confirmatory closed-path tailpipe emissions test that the vehicle is functioning within emissions laws.